


Natural Born Kissers

by conniptionns



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: College AU, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, probably occ i dont care
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-01-04 09:07:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12165843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conniptionns/pseuds/conniptionns
Summary: “The fuck is your damage,” Neil seethed.“That’s my seat,” the blond informed him in a bored monotone.“Okay, and?” Neil was incredulous.“And, get the fuck up.”//\\A coffeeshop meet-not-cute





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Working on rewriting this. Please help me with where I should go with this, regardless of whether you remember the original or not. More information to come! Comments make chapters come faster.

Neil probably—no, absolutely—regretted taking 18 credit hours his first semester of college, but he was determined to make a new life outside of his parents. Neil Josten was the name he gave himself after he left the life of Nathaniel Wesninski behind in a three-story Boston brownstone. The Wesninskis were old money, and none of it was made legally. He wanted nothing to do with that life, electing to disappear in the middle of the night and change his name once he no longer felt the breath of his father, hot and musty, on his neck.

He got a third-shift stocking position at the local corner store and made a decent amount of money, not nearly enough to get himself through college, but he had an exy scholarship for that. Athletes were normally barred from taking more than 12 hours, and Neil wasn’t entirely sure how he had convinced his coach and advisor that he could do it, but here he was, an Exercise Science and Accounting double major, with a minor in modern language, living 968.5 miles away from his childhood home.

He lived with two awesome teammates: Matt Boyd, in the college of Business, and Nicky Hemmick, currently undecided, who was mostly concerned with getting the most out of the college experience his first year. Nicky was rarely around, always partying somewhere or talking to his long-distance boyfriend by the reflection pond. Matt was another story. Matt was always around, which at first, Neil really appreciated, but today was not a typical day in the dorm.

Exhaustion pulled at Neil. It was the middle of the semester, with playoffs and midterms coming fast. His days were crammed with work, practice and studying, with sleep fitting in there somewhere. At least right now, sleep was getting the least amount of attention. Neil dragged himself to his World Literature class, taught by a demon of a professor named Nancy, and he was not sorry when she stormed out because no one had read  _ The Tale of Genji _ .

“Don’t bother coming to class if you’re not going to do the work,” Nancy yelled at the bewildered students. 

_ Don’t mind if I don’t _ .

His Jewish Probability and Statistics professor had given them the day off for Rosh Hashanah, so with Nancy’s meltdown, Neil had an unexpected four-hour gap. He thought there was no better way to respect the day than to bless the higher power that had gifted him this and take a much-needed nap.

The only problem with Neil’s plan was that Matt wasn’t expecting him to arrive for another 54 minutes. Neil walked into the 15x17 room that had three sets of furniture and a sink crammed into it to see Matt’s girlfriend, Dan, naked with her ass in the air giving Matt a blowjob.  _ No thanks. _

Without missing a beat, Neil spun around and caught the door before it could swing shut and left. He heard Matt calling out after him, but Neil was already halfway down the hall, booking it as fast as possible, hoping Matt wouldn’t slip on some shorts and try to follow him and say anything. Neil walked out of the dorm and past the towering library, he didn’t even pause at the student union or consider going inside. He wanted to get as far away as possible, right that second.

Neil had been prepared to catch Matt or Nicky jacking it, he knew that was what college-aged guys did, but Neil was in no way prepared to see Dan, bent over, without clothes on, ever.

Neil didn’t notice as the buzzing sounds from campus started to fade, nor did he notice when he got halfway across town. He only stopped walking when his beat-to-hell backpack finally decided to execute its final act of rebellion by detaching itself from his back. Neil swore loudly before leaning down to pick it up from the little handle at the top.

To be fair, Neil had used the backpack since middle school and it was bound to give out eventually. He glanced around at the shops that were closest to him; there was a bookstore directly across the street adn in Neil’s mind, books meant school supplies. He headed that way.

Luckily, there was a small selection of bookbags. They were extremely overpriced and a little on the small side, but the cashier was extra chatty with Neil and was willing to give him a discount and a free coffee if he promised to come by and spend more money. At the prospect of free caffeine, after accepting that he would not be taking a four hour nap, Neil probably would have agreed to anything.

Fifteen minutes later, Neil’s books were transferred into his new bag and he had his things spread out on a small table in the tiny, in-store cafe the bookstore boasted. He had already downed the first coffee and gratefully paid for a second cup before wearily sitting down with his stack of books. He guessed he was going to read  _ The _ fucking  _ Tale of _ fucking  _ Genji _ , fuck Nancy and fuck his roommate for not letting him nap.

Neil rolled his eyes at himself, he knew that Dan lived with four of her stage sisters and they were more likely to get privacy in Matt’s dorm than in Dan’s apartment. Neil could forgive them this once.

He finally fished his phone out of his pocket. It had been buzzing incessantly since he left campus. The messages were mostly from Matt and Dan, there were a couple in the group message he had with his teammates, and then there were messages in the GroupMes he had for each of his classes.

Neil checked the time and then glanced down at the little badge that proclaimed 156 messages before he powered it down; not really caring what any of the messages said. He had plenty of time before he needed to be anywhere.

All in all, being stranded across town in a bookstore wasn’t so bad. There was just the right amount of noise for Neil not to be freaked out by the silence, like he was at the library, and it wasn’t too loud, like the student union was.

Honestly,  _ The Tale of Genji _ wasn’t all that awful, although Nancy was. Neil had a brief thought of flipping his desk in class before walking out, but he had quickly quelled that. After his reading, he had a lot of work for Statistics and his Intro to Kinesiology class. Shit. He also had a quiz in Modern Languages that was possibly on German (which he would ace since he was fluent) but it could also be on Gaelic (which he would fail because who the fuck knew Gaelic).

Maybe he lost a nap but the day had really taken a turn for the better. He could even call Coach to give him a ride back to campus when he drove in for practice.

After another half hour, Neil got up and purchased a pack of tiny highlighters from  a container marked $1. He took great pleasure in neatly highlighting his readings as he passed the break pleasantly. He even bought another coffee, knowing that he would regret it at work that night when he crashed, but he didn’t even care right now. Something in the air had him positively chipper. He wasn’t even thinking about what happened in the dorm, of course just having that thought made him see it again.  _ Fuck. _

An indeterminate amount of time passed before Neil noticed the shadow that was cast over his table. When he looked up, he saw a five-foot blond dressed in black jeans and a dark, long-sleeved shirt, regardless of the fact it was upwards of 90 degrees outside. He was better dressed for a cool September in Boston. Neil missed four seasons.

The man’s light brows were barely noticeable in the low lighting, but there was no mistaking the harsh slant they made over the piercing glare of his eyes. Neil didn’t know what the hell his problem was, but he did know that he was standing way too close for comfort.

He was getting ready to shoo shorty away when one of his arms shot out and swept everything off the table and onto the floor, scattering books and pens, and Neil’s newly acquired highlighters. A thin dribble of coffee leaked from the mouth of the lid e, and as peaceful as his studying had been, Neil was still having a shitty as fuck day.

“The fuck is your damage,” Neil seethed.

“That’s my seat,” the bond informed him in a bored monotone.

“Okay and?” he was incredulous.

“And...get the fuck up.”

If Neil was pissed before, he was positively enraged now. He hadn’t slept in 36 hours and he wasn’t going to get off work until four that night. It didn’t make for a kind exchange.

“No.”

“The fuck you mean, no? Move.”

“I said no. I’m not getting up. If you want this chair, you’re going to have to up and snatch my fat ass out of it.”

Technically, it would have been easier to move. There were five open tables and off in the corner there was a reading nook with a couch that Neil could, and probably should, sleep on.

He wasn’t going to budge though. Neil had taken enough shit from his parents back in Boston, he wasn’t going to let anyone think he was easy pickings. He remembered his father’s secretary, Lola, laughing as he cried. She told him it was too easy to be mean to him; he was five at the time.

“I’m not going to touch you. I’m going to sit in that fucking seat and write my goddamn midterm paper.”

“Oh, well in that case—” Neil leaned over to start picking up his things and the blond took a small step back to give him his space. The people around them had started staring at them, but only casually, under their eyelashes or glances from over computer screens and books.

Neil’s eyelids practically begged him to go lay down and let it end, but fuck if Neil didn’t sort of want to fight a motherfucker.

“In that case,” Neil dramatically paused, spreading out his coffee-stained pages, “sit the fuck down and share the table or get another, because I’m not going to fucking move.” He set up the rest of his things on the table once again.

It was clear that the blond hadn’t been spoken to like this in a very long time, but Neil didn’t care. The barista was coming over with a mop, and she started quietly berating Andrew—that was his name. Andrew spoke to her like he knew her, and it was clear that he did not like her.

Her name tag read Katelyn and Neil was determined to leave her the rest of his cash as a tip; it wasn’t a lot and his paycheck didn’t drop until the next Wednesday, but she clearly needed it more than him. He had enough ramen to get him to Wednesday anyway, and he was sure Matt would take him out to dinner at least once to apologize for the dorm fiasco.

The flirty bookstore girl stayed firmly behind the counter. Katelyn was obviously annoyed by having to deal with Andrew without backup. Neil wanted to help the girl in her misery; it was clear that if he didn’t, this Andrew was going to put her out of her misery.

“Katelyn, thank you for bringing over the mop. I can clean this up real quick. I apologize that some people are just so inconsiderate of the underpaid workers that have to clean up after hissy fits. Don’t worry, I will be happy to leave so no more complications come up on your shift.” Her shoulders visibly relaxed but she refused to let Neil clean up the mess, even though the glare Andrew was giving her was enough to make her lip tremble. Neil didn’t look at her again, hoping to preserve her dignity, while he quietly packed up his things. Andrew was waiting, impassive, with his laptop bag hanging carelessly over his shoulder.

Neil slung his new bag over his back before grabbing the back of his chair and walking off with it, whispering a, “Get mother fucked,” as he passed Andrew, leaving with the coveted seat. He carried it over to the couch and propped his feet up on it before peacefully folding his hands in his lap and leaning his head back to fall asleep.

Sometime while he was asleep the chair had been taken back and an angry blond was sitting in it, but Neil didn’t care, he had gotten his point across. He was completely unbothered when he turned his phone on, only to realize that he forgot to call Coach and had missed practice. He had work in forty-five minutes and he would have time to shower if he sprinted back to campus. He walked up to the café counter and dropped the last dollars to his name on the counter, saluting a tired Katelyn before walking out the door. He didn’t acknowledge Andrew once as he walked out, but he felt Andrew watching him.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Find me @conniptionns


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter goes out to Maya! I hope you enjoy it and I hope you have a lovely day. It's nice to know people are still reading my fic lmao

Every time Neil came to the bookstore to do homework, Andrew would show up sometime after him and would haughtily sit down across from Neil. The first time he did it, Neil had to pretend to cough to cover up the fact that he was smiling. Andrew never spoke to him, just sat in silence across Neil for an hour or two, until Neil had to leave for practice, and he only ever wrote on his laptop.

Neil wasn’t really interested in talking to Andrew but he was surprised by how aware of Andrew’s presence he was. He was good at existing around people on autopilot, answering the way they expected him to. Andrew never expected anything from Neil, except that Neil would always be in his seat. Neil only ever expected Andrew to sigh in the most exasperated fashion, while he fell heavily into his seat, before he started typing ceaselessly for the rest of their time together.

Neil didn’t realize how accustomed he had become to Andrew’s presence until one day, he wasn’t there. Neil didn’t get any work done that day. He kept getting distracted by looking around his surroundings. Without being able to hyperfocus on Andrew’s presence, Neil found himself incapable of focusing for more than a few minutes at a time.

After a couple hours of frustrated not-work, Neil packed his things in a huff and stomped out the door, getting pissed off as the little bell signaled his exit. They had lost the playoffs the weekend before, so he didn’t have practice. He had picked up an extra shift and had to make a 30-minute walk in 20-minutes in order to clock in on time.

As he walked in the grass along the side of a major bypass, Neil started swearing because the city hadn’t bothered to put in sidewalks anywhere, except around the campus. The grass wasn’t cut and his socks had fallen, leading to his ankles being covered in bug bites.

He just felt unsettled and that pissed him off even more because he didn’t like that Andrew had that effect on him. He wasn’t paying attention to the fact that a dark car with tinted windows was tailing him until it was already there. It stopped next to Neil and his blood chilled as the window slowly lowered.

All the tension quickly flooded out of his body when he realized it was just Andrew. He didn’t think his parents would come looking for him, but there was always the fear that they might.

Neil opened the passenger door when Andrew flicked a gesture at him that he wasn’t sure how to interpret, but he knew that he would rather be in the car with Andrew than in the grass with the bugs.

“Where are you headed?” Andrew asked, hitting the gas before Neil had the door shut.

“Work,” Neil replied, almost dumbstruck by the fact that Andrew was speaking to him.

“Yes, I know that. Where do you work?”

“Oh! Martinelli’s, on the corner of Wayne and Broad.”

“I know it,” Andrew said before fading back into silence.

Neil let himself sink back into the soft upholstery that smelled like freshly cleaned leather. The air was blowing just enough to give him a slight chill from where it dried the sweat on his skin. It took all of his concentration not to start scratching his ankles.

The longer Andrew went without talking, the more unnerved Neil became.

He was used to Matt and Nicky talking up a storm in the car. This broody silence was almost too much for him to bear. Neil hit the scan button and closed his eyes as the radio began scanning through all the stations. He stopped it when a song he didn’t know the name of popped up. He didn’t know that it was from the Shrek soundtrack, but he could sing the words.

“If you wanted to get out of work by having me kill you and dump the body, you could have just said so.” Andrew’s voice was a lazy drawl that went rough around the edges and Neil assumed that he either smoked heavily and somehow kept his car and clothes from smelling like an ashtray, or he was in a screamo band.

Neil laughed humorlessly. “I don’t want out of anything.”

“Duly noted.”

“That wasn’t an insight.”

“Noted.”

“Do you care about anything I have to say?”

Andrew pulled a pack of cigarettes out of the center console, confirming Neil’s first theory, before rolling down his window. When he smoked, he leaned and blew the plume out the window and when the cigarette wasn’t in his mouth it was hanging out the window.

“I care about nothing.”

“Okay, noted.”

Andrew gave Neil an annoyed glance at having his own words turned back on him, but Neil was sure that’s where all the fun was.

When they pulled up outside Martinelli’s, Andrew threw it into park and flicked his cigarette out the window. Neil didn’t make a move to get up. Since Andrew had driven him, he had seven more minutes before his shift started and his shift-manager didn’t give overtime if you were working two shifts.

Andrew rolled up the windows, still not speaking to Neil.

Neil closed his eyes and Andrew turned up the air so the only sound was the engine straining to cool down the extreme heat outside. Neil knew he would get a shock when he opened the door but he didn’t care. He was getting his own private fix of being in Andrew’s presence. He was happily ignoring what that could mean.

When there were two minutes until his shift, Andrew stated the time in a bored voice. Neil hopped out, not bothering to thank him for the ride. Andrew wouldn’t have acknowledged him anyway.

Five hours into his shift, Neil’s manager, Kelle, complained that someone had been loitering outside chain-smoking.

“I mean, he can at least come in and buy more cigarettes or gum to combat what I’m sure is some stank ass breath!”

Neil laughed and offered to go run the asshole off, but Kelle just waved him off, insisting that she was going to flirt him inside to spend money. Neil happily went back to shelving candy bars, moving the heavy boxy down the aisle with his foot as he went.

Not even five minutes went by before Kelle stormed back inside, muttering about how all men were pricks and if he was going to poison her stoop, he could at least pay to do it. Neil waited for her to go back to the break room to take pain medication from being on her feet all day before he went outside to solve her problem for her.

When he walked outside, he walked right into the smoke Andrew was slowly breathing out of his mouth. Neil held his breath and willed his lungs to continue working. He reached into his back pocket for his inhaler, just in case. He swiped the smoke out of his face but Andrew wasn’t looking at him, his eyes were riveted on the inhaler in Neil’s other hand. His cigarette was immediately dropped and crushed beneath his heavy black boot.

“Shift over?” Andrew asked, tossing his keys in the air.

“No, but you were a dick to my shift manager and I don’t want to listen to her complain for the next five hours, so you can at least come inside and buy something. What are you doing here anyway?”

“Dumbass. I’m waiting to give you a ride home from work.”

Neil balked at that. It wasn’t the response he was expecting, well, he wasn’t expecting a response, so the response itself was a shock. He turned around and headed back inside without commenting on it, instead deciding the best course of action would be to ruminate on the information for the rest of his shift.

If Andrew was still there in five hours, maybe Neil would have answers for him then.

Andrew walked in right behind him and Neil could see the sour look on Kelle’s face, but she didn’t make any belligerent comments. A customer was a customer, after all, and all comments about customers were made when they were out of earshot.

When Andrew walked to the back of the store, Kelle dramatically pretended to choke herself to death, bringing a genuine laugh out of Neil. She was a hoot and as bratty as she was sometimes, he had almost a sisterly bond with her. She was really great about helping him out with hours when he was in a financial pinch, also known as every day of his life. She even paid him to come in after-hours when no one was there to do shipment, even though there technically wasn’t a shift during that time.

Andrew walked up to the front and dropped a liter bottle of pink lemonade, a yellow pool noodle, kids blunt-edge scissors, six candy bars, and a little pack of the patches that are supposed to help you quit smoking on the counter.

“I see you’re trading up vices,” Neil said before Kelle could. She stuck her tongue out at him as she scanned Andrew’s purchases.

“Nothing seems to be affecting me lately,” Andrew said, looking intently at Neil while he did.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave kudos + comment! Even if you just say "extra special kudos" <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Working on rewriting the next bit. I got 10 comments on the last chapter! SO, since I have 100+ subscriptions 20 comments to chapter four and I'll build in increments like that or post once a week ;) Thanks for reading!
> 
> OMG turns out I copied ch 2 in again. It's fixed now!

“You don’t want to see me before my coffee,” Neil joked.

Andrew rolled his eyes at Neil but didn’t snark back and Neil took that as an indication that Andrew was agreeing that he was useless without coffee.

It was Saturday morning and they were sitting across from one another at a small breakfast diner before they headed over to the bookstore to study for finals.

When Neil overheard something that referenced an inside joke he and Andrew had, he kicked Andrew’s foot and smiled when he looked up.

They had spent nearly every day together. Even when Neil was working, Andrew would hang around and bug him and Kelle.

Kelle joked that she might as well hire Andrew, he was there so much.

Neil barked out a laugh, poking Andrew’s soft belly. “He would never take you up on the offer, he wouldn’t be able to eat candy bars on shift.”

Andrew rolled his eyes but didn’t defend himself; he had three candy bar wrappers in his pocket. Neil didn’t make him pay for them, saying that he could cover them since Andrew drove him everywhere.

Kelle beamed at them before gushing, “Okay, you guys are, like, goals. When did you become friends?”

Neil snorted before looking at Andrew.

“It was midterms.”

“He doesn’t tell it right. What Andrew meant to say was he threw all of my books off a table and I told him off and we’ve been inseparable since. It’s great. He’s my only friend that isn’t dating. I love that I will never have to walk in on a girl naked on top of him,” Neil chuckled.

“Not an issue,” Andrew said.

Both Kelle and Neil looked at Andrew curiously.

“I’m gay,” he informed them.

“Oh! That’s cool. Neil isn’t interested in anyone, what’s that called?” Kelle asked.

Andrew looked at Neil curiously; he had turned a weird shade of red.

“I don’t know anymore, K.”

Andrew looked between Kelle and Neil.

“What? NEIL,” Kelle was screaming. “Do you like someone? Oh my god, Who IS she? Oh my god is it that girl Marisa that is always flirting with you at the bookstore? I remember you telling me about her. Of course, she had to wear you down eventually—” Kelle continued babbling, not noticing the discomfort in the set of Neil’s shoulders. _Kill me now_.

That’s when Andrew butted in. “First of all, Neil doesn’t have to tell you, or me, dick. Second, it’s not romantic to think that someone could coerce someone into feeling something they don’t want to by bombarding them with things they don’t want to feel. It’s disgusting and Neil would never be with someone like Marisa, she’s stupid as fuck.”

Kelle knew when she should shut up. She went back to the stockroom, realizing the conversation was effectively dead and not knowing how to face an irate Andrew.

Neil silently fiddled with the boxes he was shelving and didn’t look up at Andrew.

Andrew opened a lollipop. “You don’t have to tell me shit."

It was all he said and Neil chanced a look at him.

Andrew was looking intently over Neil’s left shoulder. It was enough to see Neil in his peripherals but not place the full weight of his stare on Neil’s shoulders.

“I don’t know what I feel,” Neil offered up.

Andrew stayed silent.

Neil inched closer to Andrew and he pretended not to notice. When Neil was right beside him, Andrew offered him the lollipop.

“I don’t like blue raspberry, it’s not real.”

Andrew shrugged and stuck the lollipop back in his mouth. He hadn’t smoked since that day months ago when he first drove Neil to work, instead, pulling out lollipops when he wanted a fix. He also probably wore about six nicotine patches, but Neil would drink six coffees if Matt didn’t stop him, so he understood that.

Neil reached out and hooked his fingers in Andrew’s jacket pocket. In it, he knew that Andrew had lollipops, a phone, a wallet, and every ticket stub from every movie they had ever gone to. Neil didn’t know what it meant,  _but it gave him a warm feeling._

Neil dropped his hand to his side and stretched his fingers out before he leaned against the counter with Andrew. Kelle wouldn’t come back out until close, she was like a wounded puppy that went to hide when she got hurt. Neil didn’t know what he wanted, but he felt like he was standing at the precipice.

Andrew sighed heavily out of his nose before slipping his hand into Neil’s.

Neil felt like he was on fire. He turned toward Andrew and they both leaned in too quickly, teeth clacking painfully before they kissed. He had never kissed anyone but he thought if he could softly nip at Andrew’s full bottom lip, he wouldn’t ever need to do anything more.

Andrew swiped his blue tongue along the seam of Neil’s lips. Blue raspberry was disgusting but underneath that was the same stuff that was in Neil’s own mouth and Andrew kissed him so softly.

Neil opened his mouth slightly and tilted his head, brushing noses with Andrew. When he started to lean back, Neil’s hands fisted in the front of Andrew’s jacket and his lips followed Andrew’s.

Andrew nipped Neil’s lip with his teeth then soothed the bite with his tongue, leaning away.

Neil was breathless and almost reached for his inhaler on a reflex, but he realized it wasn’t his lungs clenching in his chest—it was his heart. He wanted to kiss Andrew again and he also wanted to go ask Matt and Nicky what he should do. He had never felt this way about anyone before.

Andrew just smirked. “Your lips are blue.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A day late, not because of my lovely beta, Amanda (who has not only helped with this chap, but has fixed the previous ones, an angel) she had this to me WELL in advance of the promised week, but I was lazy

“You’re in my seat,” a voice thundered before a foot shot out and jostled the chair.

Neil gave a small smile and pulled his feet off the chair across from him before closing his computer to look at Andrew. The other man was wearing all black, as always, and he had a black skull cap pulled down over his head, small wisps of blond hair curling around the edges. Neil was trying to throw up a wall so Andrew wouldn’t ask if there was anything wrong. He should have known that asking Andrew not to notice something was like asking the sun not to shine.

It was the exy off-season and Neil was taking another 18 credit hours this semester. He still regretted it. Midterms were coming up and there was a good chance that his Chem I grade was going to put him on academic probation. If that happened, he would lose his exy scholarship and his entire life would go to shit. He also needed to find a third roommate because Matt was moving in with Dan and he and Nicky couldn’t afford to have an empty bed in their pricey dorm.

Daily life felt like a joke compared to Neil’s other problems, but it was no less stressful. What was it about the most mundane shit in the world that made itself be felt?

Andrew dropped heavily into the seat across from Neil before leveling him with a glare.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? I have a paper due and I’m not going to be able to get anything done if you’re going to be looking tragic all day.”

“You’re so ugly you make my tongue itch,” Neil said before opening his computer again.

He and Andrew had been hanging out for months now. Neil didn’t really know what they were—were they friends? Andrew had kissed him and Neil had definitely kissed him back, but it hadn’t happened again since. Neil was more than a little bit confused. Was it okay to tell Andrew what was bothering him? Or were they friends that had just kissed that one time and other than that…  _ a big fat nothing. _

Neil didn’t know what he was supposed to be thinking or doing. He was actually obsessing over the idea now that he had started down that path. What were they? He had almost decided to ask Andrew just that when Andrew pulled a lollipop out of his pocket and held it out toward Neil after unwrapping it.

Neil went to grab it and Andrew popped it in his mouth instead. He didn’t know how he felt about the thrill that shot through him when Andrew closed his mouth around the bright blue lollipop.  _ Why the fuck is that hot? _

That was another issue, Neil could add to the list of shit that was driving him up the walls.

He wasn’t quite sure how he felt about Andrew. It was something he supposed he should figure out. Matt would tell him it was something that they should figure out, emphasis on Neil and Andrew making a collaborative effort.

The thought of that was...a lot.

Neil was content to let things go on as they had been and not think about it at all. Well, not think about it aloud. Neil wasn’t going to talk about it.

Andrew pulled Neil’s feet into his lap, tugged off his shoes, and dug his thumbs into the soles of Neil’s feet. Whenever Matt did it for Dan, someone on the team would make a comment about how domestic they were, but Andrew was about as domestic as a feral street cat.

Suffice to say, it left a lot up for Neil to question. Endlessly. Inside his head. Because he wasn’t going to talk about it. _ Silence? Golden. _

Neil was fine to not think about it. For a few moments, or hours, he sunk down into his chair and allowed himself to be cared for in this small way. It was something he could let happen, albeit grudgingly; he did spend a hefty sum of his day on his feet. Still, nobody but Matt ever really touched him. And now Andrew.

Neil drifted. The space between his thoughts spread across vast multitudes of nothingness. He had always heard that ignorance was bliss, and the noises Andrew was punching out of his chest said that ignorance was an orgasmic bliss.

And because Andrew didn’t do anything for a moment longer than he wanted to, soon, Neil’s feet were unceremoniously dropped to the floor and Andrew was standing.

Neil had to stuff his feet into his shoes and scramble to get his bag packed to keep up with Andrew.

It had gotten dark since they arrived and Neil wasn’t sure when he had stopped paying attention to his surroundings., but when it came to Andrew, he seemed to be content to live in the moment. His mother would kill him if she found out. With a sick sense of clarity, Neil remembered that his mother would never find out anything again. His father had made sure of that.

Mary Wesninski had raised a vigilant son.

Nathaniel was born in the midst of his father’s psychotic break, and it was the power of sheer will alone that got Mary through to raise her son. Nathaniel had been a timid boy, quiet as a mouse, never knowing what would set his father off.

Neil remembered the friend he had made in school when he was little, Blaine. Blaine would tell Nathaniel about her father, a drunk, and in turn would coax Nathaniel’s own stories out of the shy boy. He had almost wished his father would drink until he was red in the face and yell until he stumbled into a wall, slumped there, crumpling to a heap on the floor to sleep of the liquor.

Nathan was another beast entirely. The man was always sober. Nathaniel was afraid to wonder whether substance would make his father more or less easy to handle.

He wasn’t sheltered, per se, but he was protected from much of his father’s ire. Mary always dove between her estranged husband and her son, screaming for Nathaniel to go to his room and lock the door.

It only ever served to make his father angrier, but the marks that mottled and scarred the young boy’s body were never added to while his mother was in the home.

Unfortunately, there were instances that even quick boys like Nathaniel couldn’t escape.

The lack of a head start had always been his downfall.

Scrambling after Andrew gave Neil a different kind of feeling. He was used to a twisted ache in his gut, an urge to run as fast as he could and find his mother, but Neil had to remember that his mother was lying in a coma, across the ocean, and out of Neil’s reach.

Neil still remembered the sick sound his mother’s skull had made when it cracked on the marble end table. Nathan hadn’t heard it over the demons in his head and had further laid into his comatose wife.

Nathaniel had thrown his thin body over his mother, protecting her from the blows until Nathan exhausted himself and wandered to the other end of the house.

With trembling fingers, Nathaniel had dialed the number his mother had told him never to call. She had cut ties with her family in England long before Nathaniel was born, but he wasn’t going to let his mother die.

Stuart Hatford was a perfunctory man. The Hatford side was definitely where Nathaniel had gotten his height. His father towered like a beast over his mother’s lithe, svelte figure. Stuart had men dispatched to Wesninski Manor faster than the ambulance that Nathaniel had called first, leaving Neil to wonder just how severed the Hatfords were from Mary.

Alice Josten, as Neil had insisted her name be legally changed, had been in a medically induced coma for thirteen months. Her brain activity was strong, but her team of doctors had yet to deem her body ready to be woken. _ That’s what a monster like Nathan Wesninski could do with fists and knives. _

Neil was continuously reminded by Stuart and the doctors that it was likely his mother would suffer memory loss—if she ever woke.

Neil had snuck out of his family brownstone under the cover of darkness. Out from under the nose of his father’s watchful henchmen, Lola and Romero.

When he checked in with Stuart four weeks later in the Southeastern stretch of the United States, his uncle had lost his cool facade and berated Neil for what felt like years.

Apparently, they had been coming for him, to bring him over to be with his mother, alive. He would have lived with Aileen and Patrick Hatford and been absorbed into the Hatford crime family.

Frankly, Neil would have rather stayed with Nathan. _ The devil you know. _

If his mother woke and she remembered him, Neil was certain that she would give him the verbal lashing of the millennia. There was a reason she had married the first man who could unravel her from her family’s ties; regardless of the consequences.

Neil didn’t know the particulars of what had happened to make her want to separate from her family, but there was nothing in this world that could convince Neil to have either one of them become a Hatford, ever again. It was bad enough that he owed his uncle a life debt for what it took to save his mother. He had to find a legitimate way to support his mother, medically, and also pay his debts to Stuart.

Indefinitely.

So there Neil was. In college on an exy scholarship. Stolen Wesninski money squirreled away. An Exercise Science and Accounting major, hoping to make pro. Exy was his passion and would provide a salary big enough to pay back Stuart. The only other option, if he didn’t go pro, was to become a legitimate business tie for the Hatfords to launder their blood money in the United States. Both majors were practical, one to help him if he went pro and the other to help him if he had to be brought into the Hatford fold.

He was any number of the ugly things his father had called him over the years, but right now, he was just a dumbass kid chasing a halo of white hair into the night.

It felt good.

Breathless, Neil crashed into Andrew’s broad chest, and with one kiss, Andrew had taken all his violent, terrifying fears and traded them for the sticky drag of blue velvet. Neil opened up under Andrew’s touch like a flower opening under the wisp of a silver moon.

Andrew grabbed Neil’s face and pressed another hard, sticky kiss to his lips. Neil gasped wildly, fisting his hands in the buttery warmth of Andrew’s leather jacket.

When his back pressed against the cool metal of the metro sign, a small noise slipped out of Neil’s throat and Andrew traced down the outside of his neck with his lips, searching for the source. Andrew bit new memories into Neil’s throat and he threw his head back against the metal sign, sinking into the feeling.

A gasped name with the reverence of a holy sacrament.

Andrew was cupping Neil through his jeans and Neil forgot how to breathe. Broken noises came between pants and when the streetcar pulled up to the curb, Andrew squeezed. Neil choked on the moment, desperate to make it more than a fading memory that would flutter away in the morning and leave him hollow.

Somehow, they stumbled their way into the bus and Andrew swiped his card twice, shuffling Neil toward an empty backseat. They waited a few minutes as a trickle of people made their way into the streetcar, sitting toward the front, anxious to get off as quickly as possible.

Neil was relaxing into the moment as the car lurched away from the sidewalk and the lights cut out.

Andrew bit a question into his neck. “Yes or no?”

Neil answered without thinking. “Yes.”

Before Neil could blink, Andrew had wedged one hand beneath Neil, grabbing his ass, and straddled his lap in a blur of elbows and knees.

The artificial sugar taste of Andrew’s mouth slowly faded and the completely unromantic taste of saliva replaced it, but god, kissing Andrew tasted like freedom. It was the most dangerous thing Neil had ever done., willingly allow someone to crowd him into a wall as he gave them all of himself.

Neil kissed with his eyes wide open like he was afraid to miss something.

Andrew’s eyes were shut tight, translucent eyelashes dusting his acne-scarred cheeks.

If Neil went cross-eyed, he could just make out the bump where Andrew’s nose had been broken and set wrong. Andrew was the first person Neil had ever kissed, and it showed in the boundless enthusiasm that he put into each one.

Andrew pulled back and Neil followed him whimpering.

“We’re kissing, not trying to consume each other’s soul,” Andrew said.

Neil would have taken it for censure, but Andrew was rubbing his thumb over the tacky saliva on Neil’s bottom lip. Neil’s lips were so sensitive. He worried his lip between his teeth to get rid of the ticklish feeling.

Andrew thumped Neil’s nose, waiting for a response.

Neil’s face crumpled sweetly, screwing up his nose in teasing indignation. “If you wanted to consume me, you only had to ask. When I said yes, it was a yes with no stipulations.”

Andrew bit Neil’s jaw in reprimand. “It’s a yes until it’s a no.”

“No,” Neil enunciated slowly, trying it out for size. “It’s always a yes—”

Andrew went to interrupt him, but Neil trudged on before he could.

“It’s a yes, but if it ever becomes a no or even a maybe, you’ll be the first one to know.”

Neil leaned forward to capture Andrew’s lips again, but Andrew leaned back out of his way. Neil puckered his lips comically, trying to make them stretch the distance that was between them.

Andrew studied him in the darkness of the streetcar, holding him back with a hand at his shoulder.

“The moment your yes becomes a maybe…”

“I’ll tell you right away,” Neil promised, leaning into the hand on his shoulder.

Andrew pecked the corner of Neil’s mouth, testing.

Neil groaned and leaned back into the seat. He didn’t know what Andrew had planned for him, but he slid out of Neil’s lap, grinding against all of Neil.

He was going to die happy tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
> 
> thehotline.org has a good information on defining abuse and getting survivors help


End file.
